Surprise
by MariaClaire
Summary: In battle, Annabeth would trust Percy with her life. But as her boyfriend who says he has a surprise for her? That's a lot scarier. Set between TLO and TLH, during the four months Annabeth and Percy were dating, told from Annabeth's POV.


11

*****A/N: As always in this fanfic world, I don't own the characters/world/etc.*****

"Thank gods it's Friday," I groaned to my friend Sarah as we left Mr. Randall's history class, the last class of the day.

"Did you just say 'gods', as in plural?" Sarah asked, frowning. I immediately cursed myself in Ancient Greek, luckily not out loud.

"Yeah, you know, like in reference to all those Greek and Roman gods we were just talking about in class?" I tried to cover. _Have to remember to watch it around mortals, Annabeth, _I chided myself.

"Oh yeah," Sarah said. She thought about it for a minute, then smiled. "I kind of like that, actually, seems less sacrilegious, since they're not real and all."

"Yeah, of course not," I replied, forcing a smile and silently praying, _Sorry, I'm talking to a mortal, please don't incinerate me._

"So, any big weekend plans?" Sarah asked as we stopped at our lockers. Her last name, Charring, comes right before Chase, so between being locker neighbors and having four classes together, we'd gotten to be pretty good friends since August. Sarah was petite, with brown hair and brown eyes and so mortal my celestial bronze knife would have passed right through her like she didn't exist. It made a nice change, hanging out with someone who wasn't constantly being forced to fight for her life.

"Not really," I replied, digging out my math and biology textbooks and stuffing them into my backpack. I didn't bother to bring home my history book; I already knew the chapters on ancient Greece by heart. It's easy to become familiar with the myths when they're part of your everyday life. "I'll probably spend most of Sunday studying for Mr. Fletcher's bio test, but I might hang out with my boyfriend Saturday. You doing anything fun this weekend?"

Sarah made a face. "Big family picnic on Sunday, so I'll have to spend Saturday studying for that test. Should be lots of fun."

Loaded down with homework, we headed out the front doors, still discussing the topics most likely to be covered on the bio test on Monday. Even though it was October, the day was warm, a last vestige of Indian summer hanging in the air underneath a clear blue sky. I wasn't paying attention to anyone on the sidewalk outside until I heard a familiar voice call, "Annabeth!"

"Percy?" I said, turning to see him running up to Sarah and me, his hair, as usual, looking like he had just escaped a hurricane. "What are you doing here?"

He looked surprised. "You don't know?"

I shook my head.

A huge grin slowly broke across his face. "Awesome. Do I get extra boyfriend points or something for remembering?"

"Remembering what?"

"Hold on," Sarah finally said; she had been standing there staring at Percy since he walked up. "Annabeth, _this_ is your boyfriend?"

I nodded. "Sarah, this is Percy. Percy, this is my friend, Sarah."

"Nice to meet you," he said, shaking her hand. Sarah looked a little dazed, which almost made me laugh. I mean, yes, I think Percy is pretty good-looking, but still, he's just Percy.

"Lucky you," Sarah muttered to me as she let go of his hand. Unfortunately Percy heard her. I rolled my eyes at the smirk on his face. Even if I agreed with her, there was no need to over-inflate his ego.

"It was nice meeting you, Percy," Sarah said. "Annabeth, I'll see you Monday. Have a nice weekend. Don't forget to study!" She winked and I blushed as she walked away.

As Sarah disappeared up the street, I pulled Percy around the side of the steps so that we were partially hidden and said a proper hello. When we finally came up for air, his eyes were sparkling with a very mischievous glint that immediately made me suspicious.

"So you really don't know why I'm here today?" he asked.

I gave an exasperated sigh. "No, Seaweed Brain, I have no idea what you're doing here. I mean, I'm happy to see you, but I don't remember making any plans."

He shook his head, still grinning. "That is just perfect."

"Care to enlighten me?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Excuse me?"  
"Let's see if you can figure it out," he said quickly. "I have a surprise for you, by the way."

"Does it involve gods or monsters? Because if so—."

Percy looked sheepish. "Well, technically, it involves both, but not in the way you're thinking! It's a good surprise, I promise."

Promises from Percy haven't always panned out, but he looked sincere about this, so I decided to trust him. I mean, in battle I trust Percy with my life, but as my boyfriend with a surprise? That's a little more frightening. "Okay, what's the surprise?"

"This way," he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me down the street towards the little park on the corner. It's a nice place, full of big old trees that have probably been there since before the Declaration of Independence was signed. The leaves were a riot of fall colors, reds, oranges, and shades of brown. The park was pretty but I couldn't imagine why Percy would have a surprise planned here.

As soon as we got far enough into the trees that I couldn't see the street anymore, Percy let go of my hand, put his fingers in his mouth, and gave a good, loud, New York cab whistle. "Mrs. O'Leary! Here, girl!"

A second later, Percy's oversized pet bounded out of the trees and bowled him over. "Whoa, girl!" he said, trying and failing to avoid being covered in hellhound drool. I started to laugh until Mrs. O'Leary noticed me and decided I could use some slobbery love.

"Good to see you, too, Mrs. O'Leary," I said, fending her off as best I could, which wasn't very well.

After a minute or so, Mrs. O'Leary finally calmed down. To my surprise, Percy climbed onto her back, holding onto her collar like it was reins on a horse.

"Um, Percy? What are you doing?"

He held out his hand. "Come on. We're going to shadow-travel."

I'd heard Nico talk about this form of travel, but I didn't know Percy knew how to do it, too. "Can Mrs. O'Leary carry both of us?"

"WOOF!"  
"Yeah, she'll be fine. She's bigger than a pegasus," Percy said.

He had a point, so against my better judgment, I took his hand and climbed up onto Mrs. O'Leary's furry back. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," he said. "And you might want to hang on, shadow travel is pretty fast."

"This is just a ploy to get me to hold onto you, isn't it?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

He shot me a quick grin over his shoulder. "It's an added bonus," he said, before leaning down and telling Mrs. O'Leary. "Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee."

"Tennessee? Percy, what—," I didn't have time to finish my sentence as Mrs. O'Leary bounded forward, into the shadow of the trees, and the park disappeared around us.

The best I can say about that ride is that it was short. It was also cold, dark, and terrifying. However, I barely had time to press my face against Percy's back before it was over and we emerged from the shadow of a building onto a smooth green lawn in the late afternoon sunlight. But before I could look around and get a better sense of where we were, Percy clapped a hand over my eyes.

"Don't open your eyes yet!" he said.

"Percy, what's going on?" I asked. I didn't particularly like being blind; it went against every battlefield reflex I had.

"Just trust me." I felt him jump down, then he grabbed my hands and I slid off Mrs. O'Leary. There was a giant "whumpf!" and the ground shook just a little as she collapsed.

"Is she okay?" I asked Percy. I hoped I was looking in the right direction; I was trying to judge where he was standing based on how he was still holding both of my hands in his. It occurred to me that shadow-traveling might not be the only reason my heart was racing.

"Shadow-traveling wears her out, but she'll be good to go after a nap." Percy began to lead me across the grass. I kept my eyes closed, but it was hard; I hate not knowing things. Like where I am, for instance.

"So we're stuck here until she wakes up?" I asked.

"Yeah," Percy said cheerfully. "But I don't think you'll mind once you see where we are."

_Hmm, interesting_. "Okay, so where are we?"

"You'll see." I could just _hear_ the smirk in his voice. He was loving this, knowing something I didn't. The grass turned to sidewalk under our feet and Percy stopped. "Okay, this should be good."

"Can I open my eyes yet, Seaweed Brain?"

"Not yet." Percy let go of my hands and moved to stand close behind me. Like, really, really close. I could feel my heart picking up speed as he put his hands over my eyes. "Annabeth, what's today's date?"

"October 18th, but why does that—oh my gods!" I gasped. Percy chuckled. It was our two-month anniversary. And I had completely forgotten.

"Happy anniversary, Annabeth," Percy whispered, his breath warm against my ear. He moved his hands away from my eyes.

My heart, which had been beating painfully fast, stopped. I had seen so many pictures and sketches, read so many ancient descriptions of the massive building in front of me that I recognized it immediately. I'd even poked around the ruins on Google Maps once or twice (or twenty times). The Parthenon. "How?" I gasped.

"Apparently the city built it for some fair they had a hundred years ago or something. It's an exact replica, same size and everything. They even have a statue of Athena inside." I turned around to look at him. He was watching me almost nervously. "I mean, I know it's not the _real_ Parthenon, but I thought you might like—," his sentence was cut short as I flung my arms around his neck and kissed him. When I finally let go, he looked a little dazed, but he grinned and said, "So, you like the surprise?"

"Percy, it's incredible!" I shook my head. "You amaze me, Seaweed Brain."

His face turned red, but he was still grinning. "I have my moments."

I laughed, remembering how he'd said that on our one-month anniversary after surprising me with a trip to Paris, courtesy of Hermes. "You certainly do."

Percy grabbed my hand. "So, do you want to go inside? They have an Athena statue, like the one that used to be in the Parthenon."

"A replica of the Athena Parthenos?"

"Yeah, that. The inside closes at 4:30, but afterwards, we can walk around the outside. I'll even let you tell me about the architecture!"

The Parthenon was fantastic. The Athena statue actually resembled my mother, which was surprising. By this time of the day, the place wasn't too crowded, so Percy and I were able to wander around, looking at the building, without being bothered. The architecture was stunning, definitely reminiscent of what I knew about the original Parthenon. After a security guard came over to let us know the place was closing, we walked around the outside of the building, studying the columns, which looked almost identical to the ones in Greece, at least as far as I could tell from pictures I'd seen. True to his word, Percy listened while I pointed out different facets of the columns, pediments, and friezes, and his eyes barely glazed over.

As we reached the front again, I stopped.

"What's up?" Percy asked.

"Thank you," I said and kissed him again.

"No problem." He ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know what I'm going to do next month, though. I'm running out of ideas."

I laughed. "How about you just plan something spectacular for our one-year anniversary?"

He looked relieved. "Deal."

"By the way, I have something for you, too," I said, rummaging in my backpack. Mentally, I thanked the gods that I had already picked this up a week ago. I had remembered that our two-month anniversary was coming up, I'd just forgotten that today was the eighteenth. I found the silver-and-white wrapped box hiding behind my biology book and handed it to him. "It's not as good as a trip to the Parthenon, but I hope you like it."

It was a keychain, with an owl and a trident dangling from the chain. Don't ask me how long I searched to find the trident charm, but it may have been the better part of a weekend. He'd been carrying around his apartment key and the spare key to Paul's Prius on a bent paperclip and twist-tie contraption that looked terrible, so this had seemed like a practical gift that wasn't too sentimental, because that's just not my style. "Just, you know, so you can remember me."

"I would never forget you," he said, looking me straight in the eye, dead serious.

A chill went down my spine when he said that. I tried to ignore it by giving a small laugh. "You never know. A pretty cheerleader might ask you for a ride home and you'll need a reminder."

He shuddered. "I've had bad experiences with cheerleaders."

I remembered the empousai he'd told me about. "I mean a non-demon cheerleader."

"Those exist?"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, if _any_ cute girl asks you for a ride, this will be a reminder of why you are going to politely say no."

He laughed. "So, it's a reminder of my potentially lethal girlfriend?"

"Potentially?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Sorry, _definitely _lethal," he corrected himself, before pulling me in for a hug. He kissed the top of my head. "Thanks, Annabeth."

I wished we could just stay here, with Percy's arms around me and my head against his shoulder, warm in the increasingly chilly evening air. Something told me to savor this moment. Almost without realizing it, I gripped Percy's shirt like someone was trying to yank him away from me. Simultaneously, his arms tightened around me. I didn't know if he'd just had the same feeling I did, but I didn't ask. It didn't matter; what was important right now was just that we were here, together. We stayed that way for a while.

Finally, I registered that it was getting darker and chillier. I pulled back and looked up at Percy. Even though he wasn't wearing a suit and tie, like on our first anniversary, with his wind-ruffled hair, the expression on his face as he looked at me, and the last light of the sun making his sea-green eyes glow, he looked really handsome.

"Mrs. O'Leary could probably use a little more rest," I suggested.

Percy grinned. "Time for one last walk around the park?"

I nodded and laced my fingers through his. Hand in hand, we wandered down the path into the twilight.

*****This was inspired by the short story **_**Percy Jackson and the Staff of Hermes**_** in **_**The Demigod Diaries**_**, because at the end Annabeth tells Percy, "feel free to start planning our two-month anniversary." Quick fan girl moment: Bought the Son of Sobek e-book yesterday and read the House of Hades preview—so awesome! Went in a direction I wasn't expecting and I'm really excited to have SPOILER ALERT Hazel's point-of-view again, I loved her in Son of Neptune. Only problem is that the whole book still won't be out until October : ( **


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